Pneumatic conveyer.



'1 1". WEAR;

PNEUMATIC OONVEYEB.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 27, 1909.

Patented Jan. 10,1911.

WI TA/Efifi To all whom it may concern:

' therefore becomes stale and rancid and ruins UNITED sTArEs :PALC'DENT OFFICE.

'rnenx r. W AR, or sen PNEUMATIC Specification ,of

FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

CONVEYER.

Letters Patent.

Be it known thatI, FRANK F. WEAR, a.citizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of-- San;Francisco and State-of California, have invented new and useful Improvements inPneumaticConveyers, of which the following is a'specifica- .The present invention relates to improvements in police display counters.

.One object of the invention is to properly display roasted coflee of several grades or' kinds in an attractive manner, while pre-- serving its strength and aroma equally-as well as though it were put up in sealed airtight cans or jars.

Cofiee, when roasted, becomes very dry and brittle, and, therefore, when contained in wooden compartments of any kind, it absorbs'moisture, and, will also absorb objectionable odors that may be present, re sulting in a deterioration of the flavor and; in an unwholesome product. Roast cofi'ee especially deteriorates when kept .in opentopped receptacles,- such as sacks, cans, or. metal bins, for, in such cases, not only does the delicate aromatic substance of the coffee ascend and-escape 1n the open 'air,'but the dust from the store, dead flies, and all kinds of objectionable substances, find their way into such receptacles and settle and mix with the coffee. Moreover, the coffee, when left in suchreoeptacles in easy reach of the dling, even by dirty or diseased individuals.

A further disadvantage of such containers isthat, since the" container is generally refilledbefore all of the coffee has-been extracted therefrom, .the coffee in the bottom of the container is'seldom disturbed, and

the flavor of the fresh coffee afterward supplied to the container. Consequently, if a fine flavored or high grade coffee is placed in a vessel containing poor grade coffee, in a shorttime both are of the one grade, and that a poor one.

The present invention is intended to avoid the above defects.

A further object of the invention is to separate, 'fromthe coffee berries, foreign substances such as stones, nails, and the like, also im rfect or partially roasted coffee beans. urther, allv coffee, when being gathered, becomes more or less contaminated with soil, or dirt in general, which is reof the berry.

A further object of .the invention is to purifythe coffee from such dirt, before final grinding, and also to remove the chafi'. ry'In the accompanyingdrawing, Figure 1 is a front .view ofr'ny improved coife'e displaycounter; Fig. 2 is a plan.- view of the same;

Fig.3 is an enlarged sectional view ofla. breaker; Fig.4 is aplan view of an electric switchclosed by ,a plate.

Referring to the drawing, 1 indicates a suction pump, here shown :as of the centrifugal type, driven by an. electric motor 2. It discharges-by a pipe 3 into a refuse box 4, from which the air escapes, leaving in said box refuse matter recovered from'the cofl-Iee. To said suction pump leads a vertical pipe 5, which at the top divides into "two horizontal branches 6, which extend to points above the terminal portionsv of the Patented Jan. 10, 1911. Application filed April 27, 1909. Serial No. 492,534.

tainedin thefslitted centerof the flat side' counter, and then 'lead downward into the I tops of receiver 7, above coarse screens 8. Discharging downwardly into each receiver, below the screen 8 therein, and into individual chambers 510 in said receiver, are pipes 9, three being here shown for each re oe'iver, each leading upward from a point .near the bottom of a compartment 10. Said compartments '10 are formed by walls 11. and partitions 12 of glass, so that the various grades of coffee therein can'be readily in- .spected and compared from the outside.

The bottom of each pipe 9 is inclosed within a box 13 having perforated'walls 14, which .allow air to enter and pass into the lower end of the corresponding pipe 9. The perforations in the wall of a. box facilitate the suction of the coffee berries byv the suction pipe 9, as they permit air to enter behind said cofl'ee berries which fall 'into the box.

Were these walls unperforated, the lift-.

point near the top of the counter, and is provided at the top with screens 1? covered by a tubular cover 18. As shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 the branches 16 enter the space 50 outside the compartments 10 an'd from a point near the top of the-counter floor, where it is the most impure, is taken "Each compartment converges toward the bottom, in which is situated the end of the pipe 9,so that,'as coffee is withdrawn from heavy foreign the compartment, the remainder always surrounds the bottom of the suction pipe 9.

By he above arrangement, dustand small particles which will pass through the coarse screens 8, will be drawn into the refuse box 4, thus cleaning the coffee. Also the suction can be so arrangedthat, while powerful enough to draw up the perfect and properly roasted cofi'ee berries, it will not fully raise imperfect or partially .roasted berries, or substances such as rocks and nails. These therefore, drop back into the bottom-of' the bin,'-. wh'en the suction .ceases, thus avoiding 'the danger of breaking the grinding machinery.

Each chamber 40 is closed near the bottom by a gate 19, which is opened to allow the coffee to fall fromthe receiver into a bag or other'receptacle, which may be supported 1n a scoop 20 supported upon scales 21.

These scales may be. automatic to indicate atall times the weight. in the bag or scoop,

but as this mechanism is common in simila'r relations, it is not herein disclosed. The gate 19, when closing,- is arranged to close an electric circuit 22 through the motor 2, so that, afterthe receiver has been emptied of coffee and the gate is again closed, the suction pump is again started, and coffee again flows into. the receiver. After the receptacle is filled up to the end of the pipe 9 leadingthereto, the coffee closes said end so that there isno further suction in said pipe, and the berries already in the pipe drop to the bottom thereof. The opening of the gate 19 breaks the circuit through the motor and stops the suction, allowing the coffee to drop from the receptacle. The coffee is then transferred by hand from the scoop 20 into one of two glass hoppers 23. each closed at the top by a-lid 24 and at the bottom by a gate 25. From each hopper a conduit 26 leads to a-primary breaker 27, both of said breakers being carried on the ends of the shaft of-an electric motor 28. While passingthrough this breaker. the coffee is. subjected to a current of air drawn through an opening 29, and flowing by a pipe 30-to the suction pump. When the coffee or berry is broken into comparatively large pieces, the dust or soil which has herevtofore clung to the berry is loosened therefrom, and is discharged'and carried to the refuse box 4. Also this preliminary breaking releases the chaff, and the air currents carry the same by the pipes 30 to the refuse near the.

.objectionable'odors, since the upper-portion .ent-rance to said second pipe box. This chaff is very objectionable as it spoils the taste and appearance of the coffee,

and the extraction of the chaff therefore renders the coffee more salable. From each breaker, a conduit 31 conducts thebroken 7 coffee to a grinder 32, both of said grinders 32 being mounted upon the ends of the shaft of a second electric motor 33. The coffee is discharged from said grinders into a receiving can 34.

Each compartment 10 is provided at the back with a door 35 for replenishingthe compartment with coffee.

It will be seen that, with the above apparatus, the aroma of the coffee cannot escape,

nor can the coffee absorb moisture or any 30 of each compartment is air tight, and, on account of the. arrangement of the pipes 15 and 9, there is no current of ainpassing into the compartment.

drawn from the bottom, and therefore there is no residuum of coffee remaining for a I of time in the compartment,

long period become stale and rancid. No"

which would The coffee is always 35 forei n matter can enter the receptacle for the c difee and thus become mixed therewith, nor can it be handled indiscriminately. Furthermore, in the process of grinding, the

coffee berries are cleaned of chafi', dust and soil which may have clung to them from the time when they were first athered. At the same time the coffee is easi y inspected from the front.

I claim 1- 1. The combination of a plurality of containers,- a pipe for each container leading from the bot-tom thereof, a receiverto which all of said pipes lead, divided into compartments into which the pipes respectively enter, a second pipe leading'from the top of said receiver and communicating with all of the compartments, means for screening the from the several compartments, a suction pump to which the second pipe leads and a common discharge pipe from allof said compartments, substantially asdesc'ribed.

2. T hecombination of a suction pump, a pipe leading thereto, areceiver from which the pipe leads, a container, a pipe leading to, said receiver from a point near the bottom ,of said-container, and a:box at the bottom of the container having an open top, the bottom'of the .container being sloped toward the box so that the contents thereof are delivered to the box by gravity, the walls of. said box being perforated and surrounding the lower end of the latter pipe, substantially as described.

3. The combination of a suction pump, a pipe leading thereto, a recelver from which the pipeleads, a container, a pipe leading to said receiver from a point near the bottom of said container, a box at the bottom of the container having an open top, the bottom of earoai 1 the container being sloped toward the box so that the contents thereof are delivered to the box by gravity, the walls of said box being perforated and surrounding the lower end of the latter pipe, the bottom of the box being also perforated, and. a pipe for con-. ducting air to the bottomiof said 1002;, substantially as described.

4. The combination of a suction pump, a pipe leading thereto, a receiver from which the pipe leads, a container, a pipe leading to said receiver from a point near the bottom of said container, a box at the bottom of the container having anopen top, the bottom of the container being sloped toward. the box so that the contents thereof are delivered to the box by gravity, the walls of said b0 being perforated and surrounding; the lower end of the latter pipe, the bottom of the boi: being also perforated, a pipe for conducting air downward to the bottom of sa 10; box, said pipeha "131g perforations at its witnesses.

upper end, and a screen covering said per forations, substantially as described.

5. The combination of a container, a pipe leading from the bottom thereof, a receiver to which said pipe leads, a second pipe leading from the top of said receiver, a screen in the receiver between the ends of the two pipes, a suction pump /to which the second pipe leads, a gate closing the bottom of the receiver, an electric motor for the suction pump, an electric circuit through the motor and means operated by the closing of the gate, for closing said electric circuit, substantially as described,

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of two subscribing;

FRANK F. EAR.

- Witnesses: l

FRANCIS M. /Vmolrr,

B. RICHARDS. 

